Harlem residents line dance during Open Streets in September 2023. (Courtesy: Alex Julien)
City officials have been cancelling Harlem’s Open Streets this summer, and restaurants and residents are not satisfied with their explanation why.
On Sept. 6, the city’s Department of Transportation halted the Open Streets program on Frederick Douglass Boulevard for the second time this summer. The event, which runs from 113th to 120th streets, transforms the seven blocks into a pedestrian-friendly corridor for nine hours every other Saturday from July until October. It expands outdoor dining capacity for restaurants, and offers music, entertainment and dancing.
The first cancellation occurred Aug. 9. That was followed by additional cancellations this month.
“It is with great disappointment that I must share the news that this Saturday’s Open Streets on FDB has been canceled by the Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance and the Department of Transportation,” wrote Melba Wilson, owner of her eponymous restaurant, in a Facebook post Sept. 2. “Like you, I am deeply saddened. Please know this decision was completely beyond our control.”
Columbia News Service reached out to the NYC Department of Transportation, which confirmed the cancellation, but did not explain why.
The Frederick Douglass Boulevard Alliance partners with the city to host Open Streets. In an email to Columbia News Service, the board of directors cited “excessive double parking, persistent noise well after open streets ended, and the FDB corridor strewn with litter” as the reasons. The events have been scheduled to run from noon to 9 p.m., but guests often linger afterwards.
“These challenges prompted complaints by residents, businesses, and increased concern by our board of directors. The reality of these challenges and the need to put our community members first have required us to take action,” wrote the alliance.
But some workers at local restaurants aren’t buying it. “They didn’t give us a direct explanation. I guess it was like noise complaints,” said Nia Bullock, bar manager at Melba’s. “This year, we’ve been hearing about noise complaints way more than any other year.”
Data from the 311 non-emergency hotline for city services show there were at least 16 noise complaints from residents living between 113th and 120th streets on Aug. 23, the most recent Open Street. The same query pulled just three noise complaints on the previous Saturday, when no event was held.
Ayana Jordan, 45, a longtime Harlem resident, described Open Streets as a celebration of Black culture and community.
“It was really a tragedy… it was like a killing of a tradition.” said Jordan. “The community needs ways to process the real psychological impact of racism, and one of the ways that Black people in Harlem do that in our communities is to have fun, make a joyful noise, gather together, with music and dance.”
Open Streets was established at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the city’s efforts to revitalize local businesses. The city says the initiative proved to be a broader boost: a 2024 Storefront Vacancy Report found that “storefronts along Open Streets experience a 9.9% vacancy rate, lower than the citywide rate of 11.1%.”
At Melba’s, Bullock said they were planning on using the event to host an additional 40 customers outside. The restaurant has an indoor capacity of 110 guests.
“The numbers are way higher when we have the streets open,” Bullock said.
Tobe Ejoh, manager of Chocolat restaurant at Frederick Douglass and 120th Street, noted another benefit.
“It really brings the community together.” His restaurant serves everything from Jamaican oxtails to red velvet martinis. “It brings more customers to the neighborhood,” Ejoh said. “They try new restaurants, they learn our restaurants exist.”
The number of permits given out for Open Streets has sharply declined since its peak in 2021, when 323 were issued across the city. As of April 2025, only 123 sites were granted permits this season.
Open Streets events have been more common in wealthier neighborhoods. A 2020 survey found that the median household income was $81,567 on the streets that were a part of the program, well above the city’s median household income of $60,762. An April report from the city comptroller’s office states, “There are more open streets in Manhattan alone than in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island combined.”
Some Harlem residents want to push back against the changes.
Residents need to “sign petitions that we demand Open Street returns, and then really be involved politically in our local neighborhood to really ask for, to really demand, some accountability and communication to Harlemites.” Jordan said. “What happened? Why was it canceled? We need that transparency.”
The alliance stated in an email that Open Streets, which was supposed to run in Harlem on Sept. 20 and Oct. 4, has been cancelled for the rest of the season. Businesses and residents alike are impatient to know what the future holds.
“I’m still very hopeful,” said Jordan. “There’s a lot of love, there’s a lot of advocacy. You can’t tell me that we can’t gather on a historic street like Frederick Douglass Boulevard, right?”
About the author(s)
Genny Gottdiener is a Stabile Investigative Fellow at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.